Yamaha Announces SW1000XG Audio and MIDI Production CardPCI Board Delivers a Complete Production Studio on a Card July 10, 1998
Yamaha Corporation of America, Pro Audio and Combo Division announces the SW1000XG audio and MIDI production card. When installed in the PCI slot of a computer running Windows 95, the SW1000XG provides a professional-level music production tool kit with 12 tracks of digital audio playback, 4 tracks of simultaneous recording, seven 24-bit effects processors, and the full synthesis and expansion capabilities of the critically acclaimed MU100 Tone Generator. This revolutionary collection of features is the first of its kind to be available on a single affordable computer card.
"The SW1000XG delivers on the age-old dream of the 'studio in a box,'" states Avery Burdette, product manager, Digital Musical Instruments Department. "All at a price that would have been impossible just a few years ago." The SW1000XG has an estimated street price of under $700 and is scheduled to ship in September, 1998.
The synthesis section of the card features 64 voices of polyphony which can be divided among 32 timbral parts. Yamaha's Advanced Wave Memory 2 technology provides a selection of 1,267 different voices derived from 20 Megabytes of sample ROM.
Also on-board is the same expansion connector found on Yamaha's MU100 tone generator. This port allows for the quick connection of optional expansion plug-in cards. Cards currently available include the PL100-VL Virtual Acoustic board, which delivers the sounds and features of Yamaha's VL70m physical modeling synthesizer.
Another available option is the PLG100-VH Vocal Harmony Board. It creates up to three-part harmonies from any input signal. Complete control over pitch, pan, vibrato and other parameters is provided for each individual harmony part. This allows for the creation of rich, wide, organic-sounding harmonies.
A stereo analog connector on the card supports the use of microphones as well as line level sources for recording and processing. Once a signal enters the SW1000XG, a high-powered, custom Yamaha DSP chip can be called into action to shape and sculpt the sound. This custom chip translates into seven internal effects "blocks," each of which can be assigned to perform one or more independent effects from the SW1000XG's massive selection. Available effects include everything from standards such as reverb and chorus to amp simulators, rotary speaker emulation and 70 types of "variation" effects. This powerful processing architecture allows for the production of completely finished works using only the SW1000XG card, eliminating the need for costly external effects processors.
The SW1000XG is fully supported by all major sequencing packages including Steinberg's Cubase VST, Emagic's Logic Audio, The Cakewalk Company's Cakewalk Pro Audio, and Sonic Foundry's SoundForge. This makes integrating the production power of the SW1000XG into an existing system a simple matter. Yamaha is also bundling a special version of their XGworks MIDI/audio sequencer with the card which makes its purchase an even better value. For more information on the SW1000XG PCI Audio MIDI Card, visit Yamaha at Summer NAMM (Booth 834); write Yamaha Corporation of America, Pro Audio & Combo Division, Digital Musical Instruments Department, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622; telephone (714) 522-9011; Web site http://www.yamaha.com/.
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